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Lancers are the playable heroes in FragPunk, the free-to-play tactical shooter from developer Bad Guitar Studio published by NetEase. Every match puts you in control of one Lancer with a unique kit, and unlocking the full roster is one of the first paywalls new players run into. Each Lancer costs 18,888 Gold or 488 FragPunk Coins. It’s the exact same character either way — the only thing that changes is what currency leaves your account.
You start with five Lancers already unlocked, so you’re never staring at an empty roster. All FragPunk players start with five free Lancers—Broker, Nitro, Hollowpoint, Jaguar, and Pathojen. Everyone else on the roster has to be bought with one of the two currencies below.
The roster has grown since launch — FragPunk shipped with 13 Lancers and had reached 17 by late 2025, with new characters still being added each season, so check the Arsenal tab in-game for the current headcount rather than trusting an old number.
TL;DR
- Every locked Lancer costs 18,888 Gold or 488 FragPunk Coins — same character, different currency
- Gold is free and comes from matches, missions and events; Coins cost real money
- You can get at least one Lancer completely free through the day-two login reward
- Don’t spend Coins on cosmetics in week one — it eats the budget you’ll want for a Lancer
- Which Lancer to unlock first depends on the mode you play, not raw power
| Lancer Access | Examples | How You Get It |
|---|---|---|
| Starter Lancers | Broker, Nitro, Hollowpoint, Jaguar, Pathojen | Unlocked automatically from your first login |
| Locked Lancers | Chum, Serket, Zephyr, Spider, Kismet, Axon, Sonar, Corona and others | Bought with Gold or FragPunk Coins, or won as a free login/event reward |
Where to Get Lancers in FragPunk
There are really only two ways to buy a Lancer, plus a handful of free routes that skip payment entirely. Gold is the game’s common currency, earned by simply playing — Gold is acquired by doing missions, and otherwise, after every match, a small amount will be awarded to you based on your performance in the match, and if you have won or lost. Coins are the premium currency bought with real money, and 488 FragPunk Coins cost around $4.99, but you’ll get some extra FragPunk Coins since $4.99 gives you 505 FragPunk Coins. Beyond those two, FragPunk hands out a free Lancer Statue — an item that unlocks any one locked Lancer — through login rewards and certain events, which is the fastest route of all if you catch it in time. The mechanics behind all three currencies (Gold, Coins, and the crafting currency Glunite) get a fuller breakdown in Neonsect’s FragPunk currencies guide, but here’s how the paths stack up for unlocking a Lancer specifically.
Tip
Check your in-game Mailbox on day one. New accounts often receive a letter listing the exact Gold amount needed for a Lancer plus a batch of Curiosity Pop Cans, and the Events tab’s login rewards typically hand out a free Lancer Statue on day two — log in twice before you spend anything.
| Path | What You Pay | How Long It Takes | Who It Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold purchase | 18,888 Gold | Several evenings of regular play, faster with missions and events | Anyone not in a rush, or unwilling to spend real money |
| Coins purchase | 488 FragPunk Coins (about $4.99) | Instant, as soon as you buy the Coins | Players who know exactly which Lancer they want now |
| Free Lancer Statue | Nothing — a login or event reward | As little as two days of logging in | Every new player, no exceptions |
How to Unlock Your First Lancer Fast
Follow this sequence to get it done fast.
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1
Log in two days in a row
the day-two login reward is a Lancer Statue that unlocks any locked Lancer for free, no Gold or Coins required.
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2
Open your Mailbox in the lobby
new accounts commonly find a starter letter with bonus Gold and Curiosity Pop Cans waiting there.
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3
Play Standard or Ranked Shard Clash over Arcade modes
the core mode rewards more account progression and Gold per match than Outbreak, Team Deathmatch or other Arcade playlists.
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4
Finish daily and weekly missions even when you're not
mission Gold adds up faster than match rewards alone.
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5
Check the Events tab for limited-time Lancer Statue offers
events like Porcelain Hunting have historically handed out an extra free statue for a modest amount of in-game activity.
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6
Head to Arsenal > Lancers once you've hit 18,888 Gold
unlock the character you actually want to play, not whichever one happens to be cheapest that week.
Best Lancer Farming Methods
Gold trickles in from several sources at once, and they’re not equally efficient. Completing matches is the most reliable baseline — every finished match will reward you with 190 Gold and 15 Glunite coins — but on its own it’s the slowest path to 18,888 Gold. Missions, daily login streaks and time-limited events all move faster per hour invested, which is why relying on match rewards alone is the method most likely to make the grind feel endless.
If you’re doing the math on evenings rather than dollars: at roughly 190 Gold per finished match from base rewards alone, it takes somewhere around a hundred matches to hit 18,888 Gold without any mission or event bonuses. In practice missions and login streaks cut that down noticeably, but it’s still a multi-evening commitment rather than a single session — which is exactly why the free login-reward Lancer Statue matters so much for a first unlock.
| Method | Speed | Effort | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playing matches for Gold | Slow | Low — passive as you play anyway | Long-term players who play regularly regardless |
| Daily/weekly missions | Moderate | Low to moderate — specific objectives | Anyone with a few minutes to spare per day |
| Login rewards / Lancer Statue | Fastest for one Lancer | Minimal — just log in | Brand-new accounts |
| Limited-time events | Variable, sometimes fast | Moderate — event-specific tasks | Players who check the Events tab regularly |
| Buying Coins | Instant | None — costs money instead of time | Players who'd rather pay than grind |
Which Lancer Should You Unlock First?
The instinct is to look up a tier list and buy whoever’s ranked highest that patch. That’s the wrong question. Tier lists shift every balance pass, but the mode you actually play doesn’t, and that matters more for a first purchase.
If You Mainly Queue Ranked or Standard Shard Clash
Competitive Shard Clash rounds punish a team with overlapping kits. Look at what your five starter Lancers already cover — once you understand FragPunk’s currency systems you’ll be earning Gold steadily either way — and unlock something that fills a gap, whether that’s long-range vision denial, crowd control, or a dedicated support kit, rather than a second version of a role you already have.
If You Mostly Play Arcade Modes or Solo
Outbreak, Team Deathmatch and other Arcade modes are shorter and less dependent on team synergy. A Lancer with a self-sufficient, aggressive kit that doesn’t rely on coordinated setups pays off faster here than a support character built around a full squad calling out targets.
If You Solo-Queue Instead of Playing With a Squad
Kits built around independent traps, mobility or vision tools tend to hold up better without voice coordination than kits designed to be set up by a teammate. This is a bigger factor in which Lancer feels good to you than raw damage numbers ever will be.
What Not to Buy in Your First Week
FragPunk’s store pushes cosmetics hard, and Coins can be spent on Lancer skins, weapon skins, stickers and supply packs alongside Lancer unlocks. None of that cosmetic spending gets you closer to unlocking a character.
Warning
Skins, stickers and supply packs bought with Coins are purely visual. They don’t speed up Gold farming or discount a Lancer unlock, and every Coin spent on cosmetics is a Coin you can’t put toward the 488 needed for a character. If you’re saving Coins for a Lancer, skip the store’s cosmetic tabs entirely until you’ve made that purchase.
The same logic applies to Gold. Sticker fusion, for example, runs 500 Gold per fusion — a small amount on its own, but it adds up if you’re grinding toward 18,888 Gold for a specific Lancer. Save Gold for the character first; cosmetics and fusion can wait until after you’ve filled out your roster a bit.
Lancer Rewards and What You Unlock
Myth: Coins Buy a Stronger Version of the Lancer
They don’t. To unlock Lancers, players must purchase them using either Gold or FragPunk Coins. The Gold price for individual Lancers is 18,888 Gold, and since Gold can be earned for free, this serves as the free method of unlocking them. Coins just skip the wait — the character, kit and stats are identical either way.
Myth: You Start the Grind From Zero
You don’t. Five Lancers are already unlocked on your first login, and a free Lancer Statue is typically sitting in the day-two login reward, so a new account can realistically have two or more Lancers unlocked before spending a single Gold or Coin.
| Reward | How You Get It | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| A new Lancer | Spend 18,888 Gold or 488 Coins, or redeem a Lancer Statue | Expands which roles and playstyles you can fill in a match |
| Lancer Statue | Day-two login reward, and occasionally limited-time events | Unlocks one Lancer of your choice for free |
| Leftover Gold | Playing regularly after you've bought a few Lancers | Rolls into basic items and future unlocks once the roster fills out |
Our Take: Is It Worth Buying Lancers With Coins?
Our Take
Farm the free Lancer Statue first, then let Gold do the rest — save Coins for whichever one character you’re actually impatient about.
Paying 488 Coins for a Lancer you’d unlock in a couple of weeks anyway is a fine trade if $4.99 genuinely doesn’t matter to you, but it’s a poor use of Coins if you’re also eyeing cosmetics — you can’t spend the same Coins twice. Gold farming isn’t fast, and playing one or two games a week will make the 18,888 target feel like it never moves, but between the day-two login statue, missions and regular Standard or Ranked matches, most players can pick up a second and third Lancer without ever opening the Coins store.